The Stakeout

Jul 05, 2010

RAY: This Puzzler was submitted by Tim Pugh. A detective is on a stakeout, watching a warehouse where he knows a bunch of crooks meet. But he wants to catch the boss.

He's watching this warehouse at night from a second-floor window in a nearby building. Crooks come and go all night, but he waits until the boss shows up to move in. Thing is, he doesn't know what the boss looks like.

All he knows is that the boss always travels with two bodyguards and that he'll be in a white car. Eventually a white two-door coupe pulls up. There are only two men in the car, and they get out of the car and go into the building. The detective waits. While waiting, he nods off for a few minutes.

When he wakes up the coupe is gone. He watches another half-hour and falls asleep again. When he finally wakes up, the same white coupe is back.

Using his binoculars, he looks into the car. He sees that the car is empty, but he knows that the boss is inside. He calls his back up, and the joint is busted. They catch the big boss.

The question is: How did the detective know the boss was inside?

Answer:

RAY: Here's the answer. And the hint is the two-door coupe, because when he looks into the car after it arrives, it's empty. Don't forget, he wakes up, the car is there, but it's empty.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: He notices that the seat back is pushed forward. It's a two-door car. The third person in the car ...

TOM: Sneaked in while ...

RAY: He was in the back seat and got out. So the kahuna was riding up front, of course, and the other bodyguard was in the back seat. And when the three of them got out, the seat back was pushed forward, and he said, "Now I know the big boss is in the building."

TOM: Ah!

RAY: Because there were three people in the car this time and not just two.